The present disclosure relates generally to information handling systems, and more particularly to a self-configuring port system for configuring a port on an information handling system.
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option is an information handling system (IHS). An IHS generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements may vary between different applications, IHSs may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in IHSs allow for IHSs to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, IHSs may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
IHSs such as, for example, network IHSs, include the ability to transmit and receive Ethernet protocol communications via transceivers such as Small Form-factor Pluggable (SFP) transceivers, enhanced Small Form-factor Pluggable (SFP+) transceivers, 10 Gigabit Small Form-factor Pluggable (XFP) transceivers, Quad(4-channel) Small Form-factor Pluggable (QSFP or QSFP+) transceivers, and/or a variety of other transceivers known in the art. Depending on the type of transceiver used, a port on a network IHS also include the ability to transmit data according to several variable transmission parameters including transmission speed, duplex mode, flow control, and/or a variety of other transmission parameters known in the art. In some situations, users may wish to use a port on a network IHS to communicate with multiple peer devices. For example, a user may connect a QSFP transceiver to a port on a network IHS, and that QSFP transceiver may be connected to a cable that splits to provide 4 BASE-T connectors that each may connect to a respective peer device. In order to configure the port on the network IHS to communicate with each of the peer devices, the user must manually configure the port on the network IHS to support transmission parameters that enable communication between the network IHS and each peer device. Such manual configuration of the network switch is time consuming and error-prone.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an improved system for configuring a port.